Jerry West, who died at the age of 86 on June 12, 2024, was more than just great NBA player. He was arguably the most influential person in the game of basketball.
Few in the history of the game could match West’s accolades as a player and as an executive. He was a collegiate standout at West Virginia and led the Mountaineers to the NCAA final. He won an Olympic gold medal as co-captain of the U.S. squad at the Rome Olympics in 1960. He was a 12-time All-NBA selection and a 14-time All-Star in all 14 of his NBA seasons. He won a championship with the L.A. Lakers in 1972 after suffering through some painful Finals losses — six of them were at the hands of the hated Boston Celtics. West was named NBA Finals MVP in 1969 despite being on the losing squad.
Then, after West retired as a player, he became the greatest basketball general manager. He helped build the Lakers’ Showtime dynasty in the 1980s and was the architect of the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Lakers three-peat in the early 2000s.
West signed O’Neal to a then whopping seven-year, $120 million contract in the summer of 1996. A month earlier, West orchestrated a draft-day deal (or steal) with the Charlotte Hornets that sent high schooler Kobe Bryant to the Lakers.
West famously told the story about the pre-draft process when he brought Kobe in for a workout and stopped the workout 10 minutes in after the teenager torched former defensive player of the year Michael Cooper in 1-on-1 drills. West told the late Lakers owner Jerry Buss that the Lakers “we got the best player in the draft.”
Shaq penned a touching tribute to his former general manager in an Instagram post.
There are certain people that you come across, and from the moment you meet them, you know that your life is changed. That is what happened the moment that I met you. And, looking back on it, it all seems so obvious now. You were deliberate and purposeful. You were kind and thoughtful. And your insights into what was going to happen to a Lakers franchise that you loved were spot on.
When we first met in Atlanta the hotel at 3:30 am to discuss the possibility of me becoming a member of the Lakers, first thing you said after i signed the contract was were about to do great things. You talked about a young 17 year old that you had just traded for, and that together, Kobe and I would win several championships. I have learned in my life that in order to accomplish great things, everyone has to believe that it can happen. I learned that from listening to you that day. You were so confident that we were about to be a dynasty. It made it easier for me to believe.
Your insights were hard earned. You did not have it easy as a child. But from the moment that you could stand out as a young man, you did. And you never looked back. You took your home-state West Virginia Mountaineers to the national championship game, and although you didn’t prevail, you were still named the MVP of the tournament. You came to the Lakers and played for them for 14 years. You won a championship with the team, and you even won the MVP of the Finals in a year that your team did not win the title! You then oversaw eight titles for the Lakers franchise! And you did all of it with kindness and class. You made everyone around you better, and you did all of it with such humility.
You deserve to be The Logo, but to all of us who had the honor of knowing you, you were so much more. With all of your nicknames — Mr. Clutch, Mr. Outside, or even Zeke from Cabin Creek — they still don’t capture the man that you were. But, I have a final label for you. And I am so proud that I got to call you this. Friend.
I will miss you. Much love to your entire family.
Shaq
As an adviser with the Golden State Warriors, he was credited with blocking a potential trade that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. The Warriors followed West’s advice and kept Klay, and the rest was history and another dynasty was born.
Even though it was widely known that the inspiration behind the silhouette on the NBA logo was West, he was reluctant to embrace the idea that he was some sort of basketball paragon. But West was much more to the league than the logo he inspired. His fingerprints are felt across the game, and his contributions and decisions changed the course of basketball history.
West once told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview that he was “just part of the game.”
“I never wanted to be any more than that,” West said. “I’m extremely fortunate to have had the life that I’ve had, and that’s enough for me.”
He certainly lived a great life.